Longing
by Jez0209
Summary: It was more than simple longing. This is how he figured it out. Set months after RFB II.


_**This is my first Cowboy Bebop fanfic in English. It's just something I came up with today. Hope you enjoy it.**_

**Longing**

The day Spike returned to the Bebop, Jet wasn't there. He had been searching for the ship for months all over the Solar System, and had finally found it in Venus. He wasted no time, and made his way back that very night.

It was a hot night; the air dense and humid. Spike was walking slowly, ever so slowly. No jacket on; long, yellow sleeves folded, and hands in his pockets. When he finally reached his destination, he stood still, and fixed his russet eyes on the hangar door before him; deciding, wondering, musing. He opened it after a few minutes of hesitant deliberation, and there she was –standing a few feet away from him, the reason why he had been so doubtful.

She must've heard sounds for she was aiming at him with her gun. How ironic; she had said farewell pointing a gun at him, and now she was welcoming him the same way. He looked at her face very closely, trying to read her expression. It wasn't difficult; he wasn't sure if he had gotten better at reading people or if she had become very easy to read; first, determination to shoot whomever had broken into the Bebop; then, her eyes widened, and filled with shock, but that last look was quickly replaced by one full of pain and resentment that pierced Spike's soul. She lowered her gun as well as her sad eyes, and walked past him. What had just happened? He didn't understand, and only reacted when he heard the sound of Faye's ship taking off.

Days passed by, and things between him and Faye didn't get any better. She did everything she could to make him feel unwelcome while Jet did everything he could to mend things between them; Spike didn't care, but her ignoring him, that was a whole different thing. It was like if she were on denial. She hadn't quite acknowledged his presence; she never, ever spoke to him, but then he would catch her looking at him the same way she did when he arrived, with hurt, resentment, and now, anger; and that made him feel incredibly awkward and miserable. He was so close to give up on her forgiving him, but the again, when had Spike Spiegel given up on something? Whether it was an awakening from a nonexistent dream or a bowl of noodles, he had never quit. He felt the inexplicable urge to let her know how he felt when they were apart, even though he wasn't sure himself.

A few days later, they were in Jupiter; snow everywhere they looked. Only him and her. He had managed to get Jet to convince her to go with him for a bounty; well, he had managed to get Jet to practically shove her into her ship to go with him, earning the coldest dead glare Faye Valentine was capable of giving. Spike knew what was going to happen; she would ignore him all the way to Jupiter, while trying to get the bounty, and all the way back home. Maybe even shoot him. He could bet that she dreamt every night about that one.

Almost all of that happened; she didn't shoot him. As expected, she had made him feel invisible all the time. When they finally handed the prey over, she disappeared, forcing Spike to look for her in every corner of the fifth planet. He found her by accident inside a bar when he unintentionally looked through a window he was walking by. He knew that getting in would only make her run away; he didn't know why, but he sat by the door on the cold snow and waited for her patiently. She came out about an hour later, and when she noticed that he was there, she looked at him as if she had just realized he was alive. Spike was numb for the cold, but the fact that she was finally acknowledging him, made him feel warm inside. He rose to his feet slowly, and stood right before her. Their eyes locked for an instant; expectation and confusion in her green eyes. Before she could do or say anything, on impulse, he embraced her. She tensed, and didn't respond to the hug, keeping both hands on her sides, firmly. Spike pulled her to him, and whispered softly in her ear:

-I missed you.

That broke her. Spike felt her tremble in his arms, and thinking it was the cold, he enveloped her with the coat he was wearing. Faye closed her eyes, and allowed Spike's warmth and scent to take over her, finally placing her arms around him. And she cried; she cried for the first time since he came back, and murmured between sobs:

-I missed you too.

Spike held her tighter, and he realized that what he felt for her was much deeper than just simple longing.

**What do you think? Did you like it?**


End file.
